1. Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relates to a communication apparatus having a wireless connection capability, and a method and program therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wireless communication, one known technique of wirelessly connecting to an apparatus on the other side (hereinafter, also referred to as a communication partner apparatus) is to make a wireless connection via an access point (AP). It is also known to make a direct wireless connection to a communication partner apparatus using a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless connection technique, in which a communication apparatus on one side or a communication apparatus on the other side operates as an AP. Wi-Fi Direct® is known as a standard for the P2P wireless connection.
A device supporting a Wi-Fi Direct® function is capable of operating as an AP (group owner) and providing service. The Wi-Fi Direct® function allows the device to make a direct wireless connection with a communication partner apparatus. In the Wi-Fi Direct®, a determination as to which device (a communication apparatus on one side or a communication apparatus on the other side) operates as an AP is made via a sequence called group owner Negotiation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-249960).
When a communication apparatus operates as a group owner, it operates as an AP, and thus power consumption per unit time increases. The communication apparatus operating as the AP periodically outputs a beacon signal and communicates with many communication apparatuses in parallel, which results in an increase in processing load and thus results in an increase in power consumption. Therefore, in a state in which power consumption is to be suppressed, if a communication apparatus takes the role of a group owner, unwanted power consumption occurs.